Right from the old world Disney title entry that serves as the opening credits for the new age Jungle Book you get the feeling that you are in for something special..and that feeling stays with you long after you’ve left the theaters.
When I first saw the trailers of the new Jungle Book it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that my jaw dropped. The creativity and thought process itself was astounding. Sure, they’ve been live adaptations of other classic stories like Cinderella but this was a whole different ball game – it features only animals and one kid!! How do you bring that to life without using any actual animals? However much I explain, it won’t suffice. But one look at this movie and you’ll realize the exciting vision of Jon Favreau which quite simply is brought to glorious life.
None of this is real. Its all CGI. Much as you repeat this to yourself, equally you are bound to shake your head in disbelief. Surely this tree, that sunlight, that elephant, Bagheera, Baloo – some of this stuff has to be real. That’s how true to life this movie is and hats off to the director for making this one the way he has.
One of the main reasons this Jungle book is the astounding success it is, apart from its visuals is its frame perfect voice acting – especially Bill Murray as Baloo (who puts energy and life into the shots) and Ben Kingsley as the wise Bagheera. Lupita’s Raksha evokes quite the emotion and Idris Elba’s Sharekhan brings out dread. While a lot of people (reviewers) have picked a bone with Scarlett Johansson’s Kaa, I thought she did a pretty good job for the rather short role she had. Instead, I was more disappointed by Christopher Walken’s King Louie, but that was more to do with his appearance, the song and dance routine and his character, rather than his performance. Neel Sethi puts in a credible performance and his innocent, vulnerable Mowgli is a joy to watch.
If I was to crib (and I am really keen not to so I’ll keep it short) the 3D is not all that much there and after the crowning success of Life of Pi, one feels that was a missed opportunity. Still the visuals are simply gorgeous and while you will come out of the jungle in 2 hours, it’ll stay with you till long after
Despite being a children’s classic, am not sure if this one is for kids though. Some characters can look quite sinister and the perfect background score adds to the dread. Over and above that the atmospheric visuals can paint a pretty scary landscape for a kid.
There is a surprising amount of sub-text and nuance in the storyline with many social causes and lessons being implied.Its not all like the children’s classic and there are fair departures on how the story proceeds. Its still all very predictable of course, but it takes a different turn from the many lighter moments of the original cartoon.
Whether you’ve seen and loved the original Jungle Book or not, this is one Jungle you have to visit. So alluring is its ‘natural’ beauty and charming are its 'occupants' that you would be hypnotized in its spell and tempted to join the pack yourself. Jungle Book just became timeless in a new way, all over again.
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